Chapter 4

"You're lying! You're trying to frame me!"

Serena finished, tears streaming down her face, as she burrowed into Damon's embrace, looking utterly wronged.

She sobbed, "Damon, she's gone too far, using her position as a doctor here to spread false accusations about me! You know I've always been with you. How could I have anything to do with other men, let alone get infected with some virus! Damon, are you just going to let her bully me like this? You have to get revenge for me..."

Damon's face grew darker and darker as she accused me. "Drag her to the underground freezer! No one is to let her out without my order!"

The bodyguards dragged me towards the fire escape.

I struggled, but their grip only tightened. The pain made the stairs seem to wobble before my eyes.

"Damon! You'll live to regret not believing me!"

Behind me, Serena's sobs grew louder.

"Damon, make her disappear quickly. I don't want to see her again. If she finds out we're getting married soon, she'll definitely try to ruin our wedding."

Damon soothed her. "Shh, baby, trust me. I won't let anything happen to our wedding. You'll be the most beautiful bride in the world."

"..."

The freezer door slowly swung shut. Inside, at negative fifteen degrees Celsius, the cold pierced my body like a thousand icy needles. I curled up next to the freezer unit, pounding on the door. "Damon, let me out! This is illegal! You're breaking the law! Let me out, now!" My flimsy surgical gown offered no protection against the biting cold, and my vision began to blur.

I don't know how long passed, but suddenly, Damon's voice echoed in my ears. "Have you learned your lesson? Will you dare to do it again? Ashley, don't think for a second that just because you gave birth to a child for me, you can mess with my woman. Today, you're going to learn what happens when you cross me."

Damon stood outside the freezer room, holding Serena in his arms, princess-style. She was bundled in Damon's suit jacket, her face still ghostly pale, but a flicker of calculation danced in her eyes.

Serena snuggled closer into Damon's arms. "Damon, it's so cold here. Do you think she'll freeze to death?"

I'd seen her report. I knew her condition was critical. She should worry about herself, and how much longer she had to live, instead of me.

"But she's so mean, she made me suffer so much. A little freezing is what she deserves."

Serena looked up at Damon, her tone laced with feigned fear. "I'm really scared she'll get out and retaliate against me. In the operating room earlier, the way she looked at me was terrifying, like she wanted to devour me alive."

Damon held her, glancing at me, his voice hard. "With me here, she can't touch you."

Serena's eyes welled up again. "But I'm afraid she'll hold a grudge and spread rumors about my private life being 'improper.' Everything she said earlier was obviously made up. She's just jealous of me, deliberately slandering me..."

"It wouldn't be good if it affected you and Thorne Industries."

"Damon, please don't believe her nonsense. You're the only one for me. She just wants to stir up trouble between us so she can get back with you."

My teeth chattered slightly from the cold, my whole body ached, and my brain was starting to shut down. "Serena... why don't you unlock your phone for Damon... let him check your hotel records from last week..."

"Shut up!" Serena shrieked, her voice suddenly much louder.

"Damon, look! She's still spouting lies! I didn't do anything! She's framing me!"

She deliberately leaned further into Damon's embrace, accidentally snagging her wrist on a bruise, and instantly cried out. "Ah... it hurts... Damon, I don't want to hear her voice anymore!"

Damon's eyes grew colder, and he commanded, "Set the temperature to the absolute lowest. Let's see if she still feels like running her mouth." The bodyguard at the door immediately complied.

The cold intensified abruptly, and white frost condensed on the metal cabinet walls.

A metallic taste filled my mouth, and my fingernails scraped a raw, grating sound against the icy metal wall of the freezer. Just as my vision started to black out...

Damon's final warning echoed in my ears. "Ashley, when you learn to behave, I'll let you out. Otherwise, you'll never leave."

My consciousness began to fade, my whole body frozen and immobile.

I used my last ounce of strength to speak. "Damon... let me out..."

But he just turned and walked away with Serena in his arms.

Just as they were about to leave, the corridor door was violently thrown open.

Nurse Davis burst in, a stack of lab reports clutched in her hand, her voice frantic: "Serena's HIV test came back positive! All instruments in the operating room must be destroyed immediately!"

She slammed the papers down.

"You've all been exposed to her blood! Get yourselves to PEP treatment now, before it's too late!"

Damon's hand instantly froze in mid-air, the color draining completely from his face. "What did you say?! How is that possible?!"